I Know You're In There
by loveintheimpala
Summary: "He meant what he said, he really did want them out of the picture. He wanted his brother and sister dead, purely for the reason that they wanted to keep him alive." Weeks after becoming a demon Dean returns to the bunker in search of his siblings, and there is only one thing he wants from them, but can Sam and Jenny save him before it's too late?
1. Home To Kill

**I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE**

**Chapter One: Home To Kill**

Glass crunched beneath Jenny's boots as she stepped inside the bunker, the sound immediately put her on edge. As far as she had been concerned the only person that would be in there was her younger brother, Sam. No one else had even set foot in there for over two months, and, as far as she knew, nothing other than the two of them had access to the place.

Silently, she lowered her duffel bag from her shoulder and placed it down beside the door before she took the gun from the back of her jeans and made her way down the stairs. There was mess everywhere she looked. Books and papers, weeks of research, had been thrown from the tables and scattered across the room, chairs had been knocked over and lamps had been smashed to the ground. It looked like a pretty intense fight had gone down while she had been gone.

"Hello?" she called out, her voice echoed off the cold and empty walls around her. There was no sign of anyone. "Sam?" she tried again, desperately praying that he was okay. "Sammy? You here?" Her held her breath for an answer but there wasn't one.

At two years younger than her, Sam made Jenny the middle child of him and Dean. And, like Dean, she had always taken on the older sibling responsibility to keep her younger brother safe. While she told herself she was the one who could keep her little brother safe, despite him being pretty much twice her size, a lot of the time he had been the one there to save her. They had always been close, but the past two months, especially with what had happened to Dean, they'd had to be there for each other more than ever before.

Jenny held a tighter grip of her gun and made her way down the hallway towards his room, not sure she was ready for what she might find there. Something caught her eye as she came towards the end of the corridor, there was blood on the floor beside her boot, and it looked fresh. Holding her breath she rounded the corner and stopped dead at the sight before her.

Sam lay on the floor in front of her, completely still. There was blood covering his grey t-shirt and face, he looked as though he had been beaten within an inch of his life. She dropped down to her knees beside him, momentarily forgetting everything else, and placed a hand to his neck. "Sam? Hey, can you hear me?" she felt a small pulse and sighed in relief, he was still alive. "Sammy?" she shook him as if she could will him back into consciousness. "Come on, please, wake up."

A loud smash from somewhere in the distance made her jump. Whatever had done that to Sam was still in there with them, she wasn't alone. Taking a short breath she grabbed her gun and cast one last glance at her brother before she continued her way inside, following the noise.

It was only as she came closer to it that she realised the commotion was coming from what had been Dean's room, before he had left. That pissed her off even more. If breaking in there and trying to murder Sam hadn't done it, breaking into Dean's room had sealed it, whatever was on the other side of that door was dead.

She nudged the slightly ajar door with her foot to open it further, giving her a better look inside. The room was trashed, and somewhere in the back of her mind she thought to herself how pissed off Dean would be at the mess, but she dismissed the notion and focused on what she was doing. There, standing with his back to her, was a man. It was someone she hadn't expected to see again, she wasn't sure what she thought had happened to him, she wasn't even sure that she had wanted to know, but there he was, standing right in front of her, her elder brother, Dean Winchester.

He turned at the sound of the door being opened and looked her up and down, taking in the gun aimed at him. All he did was smirk, as if the thought of her shooting him did nothing but amuse him.

Jenny narrowed her eyes at him because, sure, it was Dean, only something was different. He didn't even look like her brother anymore. Everything that made him Dean was gone. There was a dark and cold smile on his face that replaced the warmness he had once shown to her, the glimmer of his green eyes had gone, now dangerous in a way that she had never seen them look before. It was more than just the hunter within him, it was a clear darkness, something that hadn't been there before.

"Well, if it isn't little Jenny." he smirked down at her as she took a step forwards, the gun still focused on him. "Baby Jay." he pondered, giving a small chuckle. She clenched her jaw at the familiar nickname, shaking her head at him as if she could warn him not to provoke her without even opening her mouth. "Didn't hear you come in."

Jenny didn't know what to do, she didn't know what to think. Everything just seemed to stop for a moment, as if the world had stopped turning and it was just the two of them left staring at each other in silence.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked him, her voice was hard, but the fear came though clearly in her words. Nothing before had scared her as much as seeing Dean in the state he was in there.

Dean chuckled at the question and gave a half-hearted shrug. "Can't a guy come visit the family every once in a while?" he replied sarcastically.

Jenny tightened her hold of the gun, her finger hovering over the trigger, and took a step back, nothing but unnerved by him. But Dean just continued to smirk at her and closed the distance between them in one long stride. His eyes closed for a moment and then she saw him, she saw him for what he had truly become, she saw the evil in the blackness staring down at her.

She found herself backed into the wall with him seemingly towering over her. There was a malicious glint in his eyes that she knew was directed right for her, the same way she was sure it had been aimed at Sam earlier.

"Dean," her voice cracked a little at his name. She tried to look away from him but he simply moved closer and grabbed her face to force her to stare at him. "What the hell do you want?" she pushed out again through gritted teeth.

He reached down and took the gun, completely forgotten about, from her hand. "I came to cut off my connections." he told her quietly, his voice low in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. He had never had her afraid of him before, but this was something new, this wasn't him.

A frown found its way to her brow, confused by his words. "You what?"

Dean shook his head as if she was stupid just for asking. "You think I don't know what you and Sam are doing here?" he asked incredulously, raising his eyebrows at her. "You think I haven't worked it out? I've seen all your damn research in there, Jennifer, I know. You're trying to find a way to turn me back. And I can't let that happen."

Jenny stared at him in disbelief. She could tell that he wasn't lying to her, it wasn't an act her was putting on, the man in front of her meant business. He meant what he said, he really did want them out of the picture. He wanted his brother and sister dead, purely for the reason that they wanted to keep him alive.

"Something's wrong with you, Dean." she managed to get out in a small whisper. She summoned what strength she had in her and shoved him hard in the chest to get him away from her but it did nothing, he remained where he stood. "Something's really broken in you."

"No," he shook his head in disagreement. "Nothing's wrong with me, Jenny." He finally moved back from her and threw the gun across the room in the direction of a desk. And then she had a sick thought, if he wasn't going to use a gun, he was going to use the blade to do it. "You see," he spoke lightly as he paced the room in front of her. "I'm finally who I'm supposed to be. I'm strong, stronger than I've ever been before." he looked back to her and grinned.

With an effortless flick of his wrist he had her thrown against the opposite wall. She hit it with a thud and fell down against the table beneath her, crashing through it before she hit the floor with a pained groan.

"See." he smirked as he stood over her. "You can't beat me, Jenny, neither of you can." he grabbed a firm hold of her blonde hair and pulled her up to face him. "Neither of you are a threat to me."

"Dean, come on, just think about what you're doing here," she struggled against his hold. "This isn't you."

Dean had never so much as said something to intentionally hurt her, and now he was throwing her across rooms and smashing her into furniture. That wasn't her brother, or was it? She didn't know who he was anymore. She didn't know what she was supposed to think. Everything in her wanted to deny it, but this time she knew it wasn't just a possession, there wasn't a demon in there to exorcise. Dean was just.. Bad.

He didn't say anything at first, just smiled. The darkness flickered in his eyes again before he threw her back into the wall, this time harder. Once again, she fell to the ground at his feet.

"You see, Jen, now that I don't have to worry about looking after you and Sam anymore, I'm free to do whatever the hell I like. And, let me tell you, there is nothing like it." he grinned as she pushed herself up to face him and punched her hard in the face, knocking her back into the wall. "Look at you, not even fighting back, are you? Guess I'm not the only one with something broken in me."

Jenny wiped the blood from her lip and shook her head, fighting the urge to cry. Dean had always been the one on her side, he had _always_ had her back, he had always been the one she turned to when things got hard. And this time he hadn't been there, because he had been the exact reason she had been in the state where she needed someone there for her. He had been the one to cause her pain.

The first time she had seen the blackness in his eyes she had freaked, she hadn't known what to do. They had tried to exorcise the 'demon' in there, but nothing. And then he had just been gone. They couldn't hold him there, nothing could, he was too strong for both of them. And honestly, she had thought that would be the last time she saw him.

After he had gone things had been hard. There had been the nightmares and the initial desire to give up right there. She had taken the frustration out on violent hunts and whiskey, she had tried to silence the nightmares with vodka, but nothing had changed, it hadn't gotten better. And then Sam had tracked her down. He had turned her around and brought her back to the bunker, convincing her that they had to help their brother because he was still in there somewhere. It wasn't all darkness and evil, the man who had raised them was still alive inside and they had to save him, because Winchesters just didn't give up on family.

And once she had gotten into the research with Sam things had cleared up. She knew that there was something seriously wrong with her older brother, something more than had ever been wrong with him before. Something had changed in him, he was different, but that didn't mean that he couldn't be saved. It didn't mean that he couldn't go back. She had trained a part of herself to believe that the man she had spent her entire life with, the one who had made her into the person she was right there, he was still inside there somewhere. He couldn't be gone, she wouldn't accept it. Not now.

Dean seemed to realise that she wasn't about to answer him and landed another hard punch to her face. She felt the bruise coming in her cheek but did nothing, just looked at him.

"Please, Dean," she almost pleaded with him, tears in her eyes. "It's me, it's Jenny." her hand gripped at the front of his shirt, her other rested at his cheek and forced him to look at her. "I'm your sister."

But Dean ignored her and punched her again, harder, this time hard enough to knock her from his own grip and send her to the floor in front of him. He wasted no time in getting down to his knees to wrap his hands around her neck tightly. He hadn't been lying, he was stronger than he had ever been before, there was no remorse at all in his actions, he just didn't care anymore. He wanted them both dead and he wasn't about to quit.

"Dean, please," Jenny managed to choke out, fighting his hold with everything she had in her. His grip tightened with his left hand but his right released her neck. For a second she was confused, but then he brought up a knife and pressed it to her skin, hard enough to draw blood.

She felt as though she could cry. It wasn't even the thought of death that fazed her. It wasn't that Sam was probably next. It wasn't that there was a good chance they were both going to hell. It was the fact that she was about to die at the hands of the one man who had spent his entire life trying to keep her alive. All Dean had _ever_ done was save her life, protect her and keep her safe. And now he was the one who was about to kill her.

There was so much anger in his face. His teeth gritted together in what looked like pure hatred. There was no soul left in his eyes, they were black as midnight, filled with a depravity she could never have associated with him before.

Clawing at the hand around her neck she tried to free herself but he was too strong. "I know you're in there, I know you can hear me, I -" But nothing else came out, his hand squeezed hard enough that she could barely speak. "Please, Dean -" Her eyes met his, pleading, searching him for some sign of humanity.

And then something seemed to change in his face. The black of his eyes flickered back to the green she was so used to seeing, the hard frown set so deep within his features faded a little, the murderous glare faltered. For a small second he looked like her brother again. His grip tightened on the knife for a moment, until she was sure that he was going to use it, but then he pulled away and backed himself off her.

His breathing was heavy as he stood over her, he looked torn as to what he should do, but then he turned from her. He turned his back to her and walked straight out of the room without another word. Jenny lay there on the floor, unable to move, holding her breath as his heavy footsteps grew quieter until she heard the door of the bunker open and slam closed again.

Then she knew, Dean was gone.


	2. Winchesters Don't Give Up On Family

**I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE**

**Chapter Two: Winchesters Don't Give Up On Family**

Jenny slowly managed to find the strength to push herself into a sitting position. She looked around the trashed bedroom of her brother, dejected and confused. Still coming to terms with what had just happened, with the sound of the door to the bunker being slammed still ringing in her ears, she sighed deeply. All she could do there was wipe the blood from her face with the back of her hand and will herself not to cry. What was she supposed to do now? Dean was gone, and he wasn't coming back..

Or was he?

Dean had found them once. He'd returned to the bunker—the place he had once called his home—and he had tried to kill both her and Sam once already, what was to stop him from changing his mind again? What was to stop him from coming back and finishing what he had started? Nothing.

Jenny had seen the mentality in the piercing blackness of his eyes. She had seen the malicious intent he'd had towards her, and she had seen what he had done to Sam. Even if it looked like him, it wasn't fully Dean in there, and that meant one thing, more than anything else, was different about him—she could no longer predict what he was going to do.

With Dean, the Dean she knew, there wasn't a lot he could do that would surprise her. She knew his moves when he was angry, when he was sad, when he was downcast and disheartened. But not this Dean. Not the guy who had just tried to slice her neck with a knife. He was someone she didn't know.

It was at that thought she remembered the state Sam had been in, lying on the floor of the bunker unconscious and covered in his own blood. Hopefully he had regained some form of consciousness by now, because she really didn't want to be alone to deal with the aftermath. Not when she was sporting a black eye, a busted lip and a bloody nose that had come from the fists of her own brother.

Jenny managed to stumble to her feet, holding onto the desk beside her for some support, and grimaced at the pain in her body. But that wasn't her main priority, that belonged to her younger brother. Staggering slightly into the hallway she let out a deep breath and wrapped an arm around her torso, holding in place her ribs that she was now so sure were at least cracked.

The adrenaline had drained from her completely, it had left with Dean. And now, at the sight of her brother on the floor in front of her, she felt as though she could burst into tears of helplessness. What hurt more than anything was the fact that Dean was responsible for the pain Sam was surely going to feel when he opened his eyes, and not just the physical side of it. All he had ever done was protect Sam, keep him safe from everything and anything in the world, he had even gone so far as to sell his soul for the brother he loved so much, and now he wanted him dead. It hurt her to see their family the way it was now.

"Sam?" she pressed softly as she lowered herself to her knees beside him. "Sammy, wake up." she rested a hand to his shoulder and very gently, so not to pressure anything that could be broken, she shook him. "Come on, bro. Wake up."

Gradually, a small frown worked its way to Sam's bloody features. It looked a mixture between pain and confusion, even before he had opened his eyes. "Jenny?" he murmured, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment before they opened fully, as if he had suddenly been slapped with the bitter reality of what had happened there. "What happened?" he urged, pushing himself to sit up, ignoring all pain. "Where's Dean?"

Jenny placed a hand to his shoulder and sighed, green eyes found hazel, and Sam could almost see the sorrow in them. "He's gone," she told him quietly. "He left."

For the first time Sam seemed to notice that she wasn't just emotionally hurt, she was in serious physical pain, too. There was blood beneath her nose and lip, blood that he was sure she had already tried to wipe away, as well as dark bruises already forming around her left eye and cheek. Dean had clearly done a number on her once he had been done with Sam.

"Are you okay?" he asked, already knowing what the answer was, whether she was going to admit it to him or not.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, unconvinced. "I'm fine." Before he could even think to argue with her, she shifted slightly and grabbed a loose hold of his arm. "Can you walk?"

Sam frowned, because he didn't really know, everything hurt. "I think so." he muttered, before he made an attempt to stand. Jenny caught him as he stumbled slightly but he quickly regained his balance and nodded at her, as an indication that she could let go of his arm, but she didn't.

Arms around each other, they made their way into the main room of the bunker where Sam leaned against one of the tables and Jenny went about finding a first aid kit. It was only then that Sam noticed how much mess had been created by their fight; the entire room was trashed.

"What the hell happened, Sam?" Jenny suddenly asked him, her back still facing his direction. "I mean, how did he even get in here?"

Sam shook his head, he hadn't even thought about that. It was like, for the first time since he had seen him there, he realised, Dean wasn't human, he shouldn't have been able to get through the doors in the first place. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I came back and he was just sitting there, waiting."

Jenny turned back to face him, eyes narrowed. But Sam's gaze was fixed solely on the floor at her feet, like he was a million miles away from there. "Did he say anything to you?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing much," he answered, despondent. "I said we could help him, you know? Fix him." Sam's eyes slowly travelled upwards towards hers, he looked so disheartened, so regretful. "He just said we needed to be out of the way before we did something to mess up what he'd become. He doesn't want to be helped, Jen."

Jenny scoffed bitterly and went back to searching through the mess. "Nah, I got that part." she muttered darkly, more to herself than to him.

Finally, she found what she was looking for and turned back to her brother as she opened it up on the table beside him. Even though he knew she had to be in pain herself, she didn't even bat an eyelid as she got on with what she was doing. She was the same as Dean when it came to looking out for Sam, it seemed to be a Winchester thing, if they were younger than you they came before everything. He knew Jenny had always looked up to Dean and looked out for him.

"Where are we supposed to go from here?" he asked her as she began to gently wipe the blood from his face, cleaning the deep gashes his fight with Dean had left there.

Jenny shrugged, never taking her eyes away from what she was doing. "I don't know, Sam." she mumbled, as though she barely wanted to think about it, let alone answer.

Sam wet his lips and looked down, tentative of his next question, but he needed to ask it. "Can he even be saved?" he asked her quietly, almost holding his breath for her answer.

Jenny paused for a moment and lowered the cloth from his face, looking down at the blood covering the white material for a moment. "I'm not sure," she sighed, but for the first time there was something like belief in her eyes. "But there's a part of him still in there somewhere, that much I do know."

Sam frowned a little. "How can you be sure?"

"Because, we're still alive." she answered. "Something—I don't know how to explain it—but something snapped it him, Sam." she was talking to him as though she was pleading with him to believe what she was saying, like she expected him not to. "For a minute back there, he wasn't a demon. It was him, and I mean _really_ him."

Hazel eyes regarded green for a moment as Sam seriously considered what she was telling him. If what she said was true, there still had to be some trace of humanity left within him. After all, he had been unable to kill either of them, after his claim that it was his whole intention of being there. He had left both of them alive, beaten, sure, but still alive. And then something clicked in his mind, it wasn't that he needed to be fixed, he wasn't broken, Dean needed to be _cured_. And that wasn't as impossible as it sounded.

"You know," Sam cleared his throat, because he knew she wasn't going to like what he was about to say. "We never did finish that last trial.." he said, hoping that she could piece together what he was suggesting so that he wouldn't have to spell it out for her.

That was enough to once again stop her in her tracks. "What?" she asked, her voice was suddenly stern, thick with something that could be described as dread.

"I mean, I killed a hellhound, right?" Jenny's face fell as he spoke, like she knew her suspicion of what he had been thinking was right. "I saved an innocent soul from hell... The only thing left to do is cure a demon. And Dean isn't possessed, Jen, Dean _is_ a demon."

"Hold on," Jenny shook her head, because there was no way in hell she was letting her kid brother put himself through all of that again. Not after his last attempt. "Sam, that trial nearly killed you. Hell, if Dean and I hadn't shown up when we did to stop you, it _would_ have killed you."

"We have to save him, Jenny." Sam countered, his voice still calm, as though he didn't need to argue his point further than that. "He's our brother."

"No." she told him bluntly. "No, there's gotta be another way. You can't—" she stopped herself, this time she really did look close to tears. But Sam wasn't about to back down.

"Jenny, something might have clicked in him today, but that doesn't mean that it won't click back. We either save him or he's going to kill us." he sighed. "And, at least this way I can save some people. We can literally close the gates to hell here, Jen. You know it's worth it."

"Sam—"

"We don't know that this trial will kill me," he argued. "But I do know that, given another chance, he will." He sighed regretfully at what he was about to say, but he knew it had to be said. "And, honestly, Jenny, this is happening with or without you.. But I'd rather have you in my corner when it does."

Jenny said nothing for a moment, as though she was too lost in her own thoughts to even form words. Sam was evidently _more_ than willing to attempt the trail again, she could see that in his eyes. Everything in her told her that she had to stop him, she had to talk him out of it and get him to change his mind, whatever he said, she couldn't allow him to go there again. But there was something else that told her maybe she had to let him try. She believed him when he said it would happened with or without her, she really did. And fighting him on it would only cause more hurt that neither of them needed.

If all the years of hunting with Sam and Dean had taught her anything, it was that Winchester's don't turn their back on their family, ever, they don't give up on family. No matter what the circumstances, no matter what had gone down in the past, when the time came, they were always going to be there. Just like she and Sam were still willing to help Dean, and just like she couldn't allow Sam to carry on the trial alone. She couldn't turn her back on her brother when he was willing to, one again, risk his life to save not only his brother but everyone else in the world. He was willing to try to close the gates of hell, after it had once before almost ended his life. He was showing that selfless streak he had to the extent she had never seen in another human being before.

There was no way she could stop him, he was too determined to finish it, to save their brother, she had to be there.

"Okay." she whispered. "I've got your back, Sam."


	3. Starting The War No One Can Win

**I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE**

**Chapter Three: Starting The War No One Can Win**

_The Next Day, 08:07 AM, The Bunker_

Jenny passed through the hushed bunker with a small sigh. There was a steaming mug of coffee in her left hand and a plate of toast in her right, filling the hallway with the welcoming scent of breakfast. The sound of fingers rapidly tapping against the keys of a laptop travelled towards her and echoed off of the walls, a sound that she had last heard at four that morning when she had finally decided to call it a night and had retired to her room. She had expected her brother to do the same, but the fact that the sound was still ongoing, four hours later, made her seriously doubt that Sam had bothered to go to bed at all. With that thought in mind—and a much darker, much grimmer one pressing behind it—she had made him breakfast, nothing too much, but enough to satisfy her concern that he was healthy.

Just the sight of Sam was enough to confirm all of her suspicions. There was no way he had been to sleep, she could take a good guess that he hadn't moved from where he sat in hours. Dark circles had formed beneath his reddening eyes and a frown had creased itself that far into his forehead she wasn't sure it was ever going to fade. He looked exhausted. He didn't even look up as she entered, too absorbed in whatever it was he was busying himself with online.

"Sam?" she pressed hesitantly, unsure whether or not he would answer her.

Sure enough, he didn't even appear to register that she had walked into the room. She stepped closer and placed the plate of food down beside his left hand on the table, he still didn't look up. But placing the coffee down right in front of him was enough to catch his attention—maybe even to startle him a little.

"Hey." He frowned a little as he looked up at her, if she didn't know better she could've sworn he looked confused to see her there.

Jenny just looked at him, like she was unsure of what to say for a moment. She moved to lean against the edge of the table and looked down at him with a frown of her own. "Have you been to bed, Sam?" she asked dubiously.

Sam just sighed, jaded. "I'm fine, Jenny." he muttered, he didn't even bother to make his response sound convincing—she wasn't sure whether that was because he knew they both knew better, or because he didn't have the energy to do so.

"You're not gonna be fine if you don't sleep." she replied bluntly, but Sam didn't miss the concern. "You haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning, either."

"Jen—"

"No, Sam, come on," she sighed and gave him a look, something that silently begged him not to make her lecture him, because he knew that she would. "You need to at least eat." Sam said nothing. "Please?"

Sam was hesitant to answer for a moment, hazel eyes regarded green as though he was contemplating an argument, but his face softened and he reluctantly closed his laptop. He could see the worry clearly in her face, it shimmered in her eyes, the way it always had, and it was something he couldn't simply brush aside.

Jenny smiled weakly at his compliance, as if to silently thank him because they both knew that neither of them could really face another fight.

"What've you been looking at, anyway?" she suddenly asked, her eyes scanned over a few of the different books and papers scattered over the table but nothing jumped out at her. She was honestly too tired to even try to understand his reasearch right now.

Sam cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. "I was, uh, you know," he paused for a second. "I was trying to find out what happens to the person...you know...once they're cured."

Realisation washed over her face. "Hm." was all she responded with a small nod.

Truth was, she understood, because she had been searching for the same answer all night, too. Neither of them were fully aware of what happened when a demon was cured. They had heard it happen on a tape recording, sure, but they had never seen it for themselves, and they had never really cared before.

With their initial plan having been to use Abaddon, and then their next Crowley, they hadn't put too much thought into the warped human that owned the demonic soul within, because they knew on both occasions there was nothing left in there to save. Yet, with Dean, everything was different—they wanted to believe that their brother was still alive and in there somewhere, that it was still him some place deep down.

But, in reality, they didn't know what would happen. Would any of Dean still be left? Would he live, would he die? Would he have to carry around the damage of everything he had done for the rest of his life? Or would he simply not care? There was only one record of a demon being cured successfully, and they still didn't know the outcome of the man within. How were they supposed to risk their brother on such little certainty?

But then again, did they really have another choice?

"So, do we have a plan then?" Sam's voice pulled abruptly her from her thoughts. "I mean, we know what we're doing, right? We're just gonna go for it?"

It seemed like something that should require a lot more planning, not like a routine exorcism or a standard ghost hunt. They were preparing to cure their own brother—their own flesh and blood—from being a demon. And, in some ways, it felt to be just a normal job. There was no extreme procedures to go through first, no immense and complicated plan to carry out, no sudden difficulties... They were ready.

"Guess so." Jenny nodded slowly, she seemed vacant, staring off ahead at nothing as she spoke. "It's pretty much the same deal as last time, isn't it? I mean, all we need for this is a demon, consecrated ground and purified human blood once an hour for eight hours... That's it." Her eyes slowly drifted down to find his. "We're set."

"Alright," Sam straightened himself in his chair a little and took a small drink of coffee, thinking over their next move. "Where d'ya wanna do this?"

"I don't know," she pulled a hand down her face and sighed. "Can't be anything too obvious, he's not an idiot. If we tell him to show up at a church he's gonna work out what we're planning, no question."

"Yeah, you're right," Sam agreed. "We need to have the jump on him."

"Mm." she seemed to think about something for a moment before she hopped off the table. "Eat your breakfast, alright?"

Sam narrowed his eyes as she grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair next to his and started towards the doors. "Where are you going?" he called after her.

"I'm, uh," she paused and turned around as she moved backwards. "I'm just gonna head out for a cigarette."

He shot her a disapproving look. "I thought you'd quit that."

Jenny offered him a half-hearted shrug and turned back on her way towards the door without another word to him. It was too much to try and sit around making small talk with him, they had tried that the previous night and it had died fast. The only thing on either of their minds was Dean, and what they were soon going to do to him. Sam was worried that it wasn't going to work, and Jenny was terrified that she was going to lose one, or both, of her brothers.

She just had a feeling, no one was going to win here...


	4. Help From Heaven

**I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE**

**Chapter Four: Help From Heaven**

Jenny released a deep breath as the cool air hit her. She looked up and down the road outside of the bunker and shook her head slowly, sometimes being so far away from everyone else in the world, being closed up and hidden underground all the time, it made her feel trapped, isolated. She just needed to breathe. Slowly, so not to hurt her ribs further after the damage done by her brother there, she lowered herself down to sit on the steps outside and pulled out a packet of cigarettes.

Her forehead found its way to rest against the palms of her hands for a moment. What was she supposed to do? She really didn't know anymore. She didn't know what the answer was this time, there was nowhere else to turn. She didn't have Dean to go to for a second opinion. Now, as the oldest, everything felt like it was on her. Everything that Dean would normally take the responsibility for, everything that he shouldered, was now solely on her. Because Sam was now her responsibility, and she had to keep him safe.

But how was she supposed to do that when he was so ready to sacrifice himself for the rest of the world? Maybe if he wasn't so willing to die, if he intended to live through the trial, she wouldn't be so against him doing it. But there was a dark thought in the back of her mind that, if the time came, Sam wouldn't fight death away too hard. He wouldn't put up the same fight against it that he would've done five years ago. This time, death didn't seem to bother him. He appeared ready to accept it.

The sound of a car engine behind her, gravel scraping beneath tires, pulled her from her thoughts. She looked around as a familiar car cruised slowly towards the bunker and came to a stop in front of her. Castiel climbed out and looked around slowly as he made his way towards her. He looked as though he had been expecting danger, he was clearly on edge and prepared to fight.

"Hey," Jenny greeted simply, offering up a weak smile to him. "You got here fast."

Castiel frowned at her. "I was close." he replied bluntly. When she said nothing he frowned deeper, this time concerned. "Jenny, I got your messages. I came as soon as I could. What's wrong?"

She still said nothing for a moment, just let out a deep sigh and shook her head, as if she didn't have the energy to form more words for him, or she didn't know where to start. But he seemed to take the hint that nothing was immediately wrong and moved to sit down beside her on the steps.

It was then, at eye level with her, that he really noticed the damage done to her face. There was a deep black eye set to the left side of her face, bruising that would take weeks to completely fade. Her bottom lip was split and a small but deep gash pierced the skin beside her left eyebrow.

"What's going on?" he pushed, almost impatiently—it wasn't hard to miss the concern that came through in his question. But his features immediately softened again as he tentatively reached out to her face. He held her chin beneath his forefinger and thumb with the slightest touch and tilted her head enough that he could get a proper look at the damage. "What happened to your face?"

Jenny's green eyes found his for a moment—long enough that he could see the pain there, that he could see her willing herself not to cry—but she looked away and took a long inhale of the cigarette between her fingers as she stared down at the floor beneath her boots. A part of her didn't want to tell him, didn't want him to know what had happened, didn't want anyone else to truly know what Dean Winchester had become. He had always been known as the good soldier, the one who could fight down any evil monster that stood in his path, the one selfless enough to die in a heartbeat for someone else—she didn't want to accept who he had become. But she didn't have a choice, because it was the truth, and she had seen it for herself.

"Dean came back." she replied simply, her words quiet, almost sorrowful.

Castiel's brows furrowed, that had been the last thing he had expected to hear from her. "What?"

"Yeah, and, uh, let's just say that Sam and I aren't exactly his favourite people in the world right now." she scoffed to herself, shaking her head. "But, that's not why I called you."

Castiel noticed her brows furrow together as she thought about whatever it was she was going to tell him. There was a look on her face that told him it wasn't going to be good, he wasn't sure that she knew what to say. "What is it?" he pressed, his voice remained calm, despite the growing concern in the pit of his stomach. It was a side of her he rarely saw, and he had a feeling that she was only outside smoking because she didn't want to let onto Sam that she was worried about something.

"Cas, it's Sam." she looked up to him and her eyes found his again. "He wants to try the third trial again...he wants to cure Dean."

He studied her for a long moment, he could see the fear in her, the tension and the dread. "You don't want him to." he said, more of a statement than a question.

Jenny scoffed. "Of course I don't. I mean, you saw him the last time, Cas, near the end he could barely stand on his own two feet, I don't wanna risk his life like that again. And, hell, we don't even know that it's gonna work," she paused and looked to him, a hesitant look on her face. "Or...do we?"

He looked at her with something that could have been sympathy, like what he knew she wanted to hear and what he was about to tell her were two completely different things. For a split second he considered lying to her. He could tell her that there was no way it could work, that way both she and Sam would be safe, there would be no third trial and no risk to either of the Winchester brother's lives. But he couldn't. He had to tell her the truth, because he knew, however hard it was, Dean needed to be saved.

"Yes, technically, it would work," he sighed. "But, Jenny, you're right about Sam, the effects it would have on him..." he trailed off, shaking his head, it wasn't anything that he really wanted to go into detail about. She was on edge enough.

He watched as she blew out the smoke from between her lips and tossed the cigarette aside to the ground. "Would it kill him?" she asked bluntly, once again completely stoic as though nothing in the world could phase her.

"Jenny—"

"Cas," she stopped him before he could try to sugarcoat anything. "Would it kill him?"

He sighed. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I suppose, there's a chance."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." she muttered bitterly. "So, what this pretty much comes down to, I have to choose. I mean, I can risk Sam's life to save Dean or I can talk Sam around and just let Dean go." This time she really did look close to tears. "What the hell am I supposed to do, Cas?"

He looked down at her sadly, what was he supposed to tell her? He knew that she was right. The only options were to cure Dean or to let him go, and he knew that neither her or Sam would be able to just watch him walk away, they had to try something. And, aside from curing him, there was nothing more they could do for him. Dean needed to be stopped and a part of him had realised the three of them were probably the only ones left who were capable.

"I don't know." he sighed. "But do you really believe that you could talk Sam around on this?"

She shook her head. "Probably not." she muttered. "You think I should let him do it, don't you?"

"I think that Dean needs to be stopped." he replied simply. "And that this is the only way we know for sure it's gonna work."

"Hm." she nodded slowly, because she knew that he was right. Dean needed to be stopped, and they didn't have a plan B this time. She couldn't see another option. "I know." With a reluctant sigh she pushed herself up and pulled a hand down her face. Castiel noticed how tired she looked, more than likely putting all of her concern on Sam and not herself. "You know, I used to tell Dean all the time that Sam was stronger than he ever gave him credit for, that he worried too much, he underestimated him...I get it now. I get why he worried so much, why he was always so protective of him," Castiel frowned a little as he rose to face her. "It's because Sam's selfless, and I can't guarantee he'll stop when it's too much. I can tell, he's willing to die for this, Cas."

He regarded her for a moment, contemplating his response. Slowly, he reached out and rested a hand to her shoulder. "It won't come to that." he told her seriously, enough that she could almost believe him.

She gave a small, unconvinced nod. "I hope you're right."

Without another word she turned back to the doors of the bunker and let them inside silently. Looking down over the balcony she noticed that Sam was no longer sitting at the tables. She and Castiel descended down the metal stairs and entered. Everything was silent for a long moment, filled with tension, until the sound of footsteps echoed from the walls.

"Cas, hey." A voice sounded from behind them. They both turned to see Sam heading into the room. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh," Castiel cleared his throat, he had the impression that Jenny wouldn't have wanted Sam to know she'd called for help, or that she wanted him to know how truly worried she was about what he was planning to do. "I was close by. I thought I'd come by and check if everything was okay." he replied simply.

"Huh." Sam looked between the two of them slowly and frowned a little, he didn't look to be completely convinced by the angel's story, but he dismissed it. "Sure. Well, has Jenny filled you in? On what we're planning?"

"Yes, I, uh," he looked down for a moment, unsure of what to say. A part of him knew he should be talking him out of it, the same way that Jenny knew she should, but another part had enough faith in the hunter to get through it. "I'm here to help, Sam."

Sam gave a small sigh, almost relieved. "Great." he nodded at him and looked back to his sister. "I found a place we could use." Jenny looked up at him, curious. "It's an old farmhouse just outside of town, used to be a church until the owners converted it." he explained as he handed her a piece of paper with the information on. "They moved three years ago, it's been empty since."

"Consecrated ground, that'll work." she nodded slowly as her eyes scanned the details. "Alright, we get him there for tomorrow and we do this. We cure him and we get it over with."

Sam frowned a little. There was something about her that just wasn't fully there, not completely with him. Her mind was clearly miles away. "So what, you think he's just gonna show up there and wait for us to cure him? He's gonna work it out eventually, Jenny. You said that yourself. We have to stay one step ahead of him the whole time or you know he's going to end us."

She looked up at him, as if to ask him why he was even doubting her. "Then we'll just have to make sure that he doesn't get the jump on us, won't we?"

That wasn't what he had been expecting to hear. "Since when are you so on board with this?" he asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

Sam knew how much Jenny had been trying to keep her own opinions to herself. She didn't want him to go through with the last trail, she didn't want him to try and finish it, she wasn't at all supportive of him once again risking his own life for the good of everyone else—but Jenny knew her brother, and he wouldn't back down—Dean needed to be cured, he had to be saved, because he couldn't carry on the way he was now. Not a chance. And, honestly, she believed him when he said it would happen with or without her, she couldn't back down, not when Sam needed her.

"We don't have a choice anymore." she replied quietly. "You're right about the house, there's a good chance we can get him to show up there without him realising what it is. Then we trap him."

Castiel stepped forwards, as if to remind the two Winchesters that they weren't alone, and narrowed his eyes at her. "How can you be sure he'll show?"

"Oh, trust me, he'll show." she told him, there was a sudden darkness in her voice, a determination that he hadn't heard in a long time.

Sam watched curiously as she pulled her phone from her back pocket. "What are you gonna say?"

Jenny didn't answer him, simply dialed the familiar number of Dean and held the phone to her ear. She waited for a few rings, almost sure that he wasn't going to answer, before she heard the sound of the line crackle a little as the other end was picked up.

"Jennifer." Dean's voice came from the other side, it was almost like she could hear the smirk on his lips.

"Alright, Dean, listen to me," she began seriously, she wasn't about to let him intimidate her, because she knew that if she gave him time to speak that was exactly what he would do. "I'm still alive, and I don't know why you left it like that, but you did. And, I don't know if you still care or not but...we can't go on like this. The three of us, the way we are now, it can't work, and you know that. I can't trust you to be out there and not come back, I can't trust you not to hurt Sam. You know that I have to stop you, and I'm sorry, I am, but I don't have a choice anymore." Nothing was said from Dean's end as he listened to her, so she continued. "So, we're at this house, 89 Richmond Street, just outside of Lebanon, be here tomorrow at twelve. We can talk about it." she sighed regretfully. "Please don't make me hunt you, Dean."

And, with that, she lowered the phone from her ear and ended the call. Both Sam and Castiel stood and stared at her, neither knowing what to say.

"He'll be there." she said simply, before she turned and walked away from them both without another word.


End file.
